The Lion and The Fox
by Hobo3
Summary: A collection of drabbles and stories featuring Zaraki Kenpachi and Ichimaru Gin. Title inspired by Aesop's Fable of the same name. Rating may go up as time goes on. Kenpachi Birthday special up!
1. The Lion and The Fox

THE LION AND THE FOX

_A collection of drabbles/stories revolving around_

_the curious friendship between_

_one Zaraki Kenpachi_

_and_

_one Ichimaru Gin_

It wasn't hard to find the newest captain of the Gotei 13. It wasn't like he was _trying_ to hide. You could feel his reitsu miles away, almost literally.

Zaraki Kenpachi's reitsu lead Ichimaru Gin to a stream in the small forest on the outskirts of the fifth division. There Kenpachi sat brooding, his arm slung over his unsheathed zanpakutou. When his fellow captain did not acknowledge his approach, Gin shrugged to himself and continued ambling over to where the man sat.

Ichimaru plopped himself down, unceremoniously and uninvited, beside the much larger Kenpachi.

"Ah, that's no way ta welcome a new captain. Last item of business an' then not even introduce ya to anybody. Ain't the way it's done." Gin's comments were rewarded with a derisive _che_ and the shrug of a massive shoulder.

"Maybe not for those of you that went to that _Academy_ of yours. If that's not the way it's done, that's fine by me. Never been much for tradition." They sat there in silence for awhile before Zaraki continued. "It went worse than I expected."

"Oh, what were ya expectin'?"

"I was expecting some one to complain about my credentials. I was expecting to get the chance to use my sword." Zaraki waggled the arm draped over the hilt, and gritted his teeth.

"Instead you were met with silence, ne?"

"I've always been met with silence . . . and stares. At least there were a few of you there that weren't staring. Like that guy with the strange glasses and the big guy beside him. I can't be sure about the big guy, though, you can't tell with that bucket over his head." Gin's shoulders were shaking while he chuckled quietly. Then he broke out into laughter. When Gin was laughing on the ground, Kenpachi began to suspect there was more to it than just humoring him and that annoyed him.

"What?" he growled. This caused Gin to prop himself up on his elbows and turn his smiling face to Zaraki.

"Sorry. The guy with the strange glasses, is Tousen Kaname, Captain of the Ninth Division. He wears those glasses because he's blind."

Kenpachi looked struck for a moment, making Gin reconsider his rather cavalier approach to the man. Then he watched as a grin began to form on Kenpachi's face. It started out disturbingly similar to his own default facial expression, but then it began to widen and expose the larger man's sharp, white teeth. It was one of the most feral smiles Gin had ever witnessed on a fellow shinigami.

"Then, I guess he couldn't have been staring at me, eh?" Zaraki threw his head back and laughed. Ichimaru remained propped up by his elbows, regarding the eleventh division captain. He had never before heard a laugh that reminded him so much of a lion's roar. The big man soon stopped laughing and returned his gaze.

"What did you come here for?"

Gin sat up and extended his right hand to Kenpachi.

"Ichmaru Gin, Captain of the Third Division. Pleased ta meet ya, Captain Zaraki."

Kenpachi looked surprised again but shook the proffered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Ichmaru."

_Author's Note: Okay, not really a drabble in the true sense, but it's a start. I've had this idea pestering me for weeks and I just had to get something written. So how did I do? I'm not sure I got them in character. I have a few ideas but I'm not sure exactly where to go with these. The idea is to progress from Kenpachi's arrival in Soul Society to the end of the Soul Society arc. Suggestions/requests are welcome._


	2. 002 Middles

Middles

A/N: I've taken to prompts from the fanfic100 challenge

to try and get some of these ideas out of my

head with some semblance of story/plot.

Yachiru stopped in the middle of training. Oblivious to the trainwreck of eleventh division bodies piling up behind her from their attempts to not fall upon her (some from genuine concern for their fukataichou, the majority from fear of what their taichou would do to the one who harmed a single pink strand of her hair,) Yachiru tapped her chin with her finger, looking puzzled.

"I wonder where Ken-chan went?"

It was disconcerting, really, how often Ichmaru-taichou was putting him in the middle of these games he played with Zaraki-taichou, Kira fretted to himself as he searched for the eleventh division's captain. Not that Kira minded that much now that Zaraki-taichou had that eye-patch from the twelfth division. It was still very easy to find Zaraki-taichou. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that Kira had no idea what to expect when he found him.

Kenpachi let out a loud sigh. He should've known better . . .

"Hey, Kenpachi. Why don't we try fighting with both your eyes covered. It'll make the fight more interesting, ne?" Without waiting for Zaraki to answer, Gin produced a white band of cloth. Kenpachi instinctively backed away from his friend. Gin was already behind him, tying the cloth around his head.

"What cha worried about? Don't cha trust me?" Gin asked, an amused tone creeping into his voice.

"No."

"Wah! You're so mean! I thought we were friends!" Ichimaru slumped over Zaraki's massive shoulder in an absurd attempt to imitate Yachiru. Kenpachi laughed at the third division captain's antics.

"Pshh, quit whining. It's pathetic. And it's because we're friends that I don't trust you, Ichimaru."

"Fair enough, fair enough," Zaraki could feel the breeze against his face from Gin flapping his hands in the air. "Does this mean you don't wanna?"

"Hn, I already got the damn blindfold on, don't I?"

"Yay!" Gin went to glomp Kenpachi, only to find he had moved. "Eh?"

"Don't you touch me. I get enough of that with Yumichika around."

"Before we start, you have to agree to leave the blindfold on until I say it's okay." Kenpachi could hear the sound of Gin's zanpaktou being unsheathed.

"Fine, now let's start." Zaraki took a few steps forward. He waited for Gin to attack. And waited. And-

"Hey, Ichimaru! What do you think you're doing?" No answer. He'd never been good at sensing reiastu. Gin could be standing there beside him laughing and he wouldn't know it with the blindfold on . . .

That's how Kenpachi, the strongest shinigami of this generation, ended up sitting in the middle of nowhere.

"Che, he'd better show up soon. I'm getting hungry." He grumbled to himself.

"Ah! Ah! There you are, Zaraki-taichou!" Kira called out as he approached his taichou's friend. He stopped in his tracks when the man turned around. After waiting for a moment, the captain of the eleventh division spoke.

"Well?"

"Sorry," Kira bowed, his face flushing when he remembered Zaraki-taichou couldn't see him. "Sorry. Ano- Ichimaru-taichou says 'It's okay.'"


	3. 003 Ends

**003. Ends**

_**A/N: **__As mentioned previously I've gone to the fanfic100 challenge for prompts to help me get my ideas down on paper. _

_**Review replies: **__embarrassed Sorry I didn't reply in the second chapter._

_**Stensuna the Dragon:**__ Maybe if I had a truly solid plot I would try and write a full story. Until then, I'm afraid it will have to be the random snapshots that pop up in my head._

_**hollowheart3: **__These two share a twisted sense of humor, I don't think you need to woory about it being too emo. Though Kenpachi has a tendency towards it. Good thing he had Gin around for over 100 years or so!_

_**shinigami-girl-666: **__If you noticed it, I've over did it. I will try and tone down the dialect a bit. In the manga, Gin's far more formal, whereas the anime, he's a bit more unrefined. So i'll try and find a happy medium._

_Thank you all for your comments. I hope you continue to enjoy the madness that is Gin & Kenpachi! I'm having fun writing these._

_**Spoilers: **__spoilers if you have not finished the Soul Society arc._

When you thought about it long enough, as Zaraki Kenpachi had, he and Gin had the same reason for becoming a shinigami.

Their methods were different. Ichimaru had followed the more standard path of Rukognai, Academy, Fukutaichou, Taichou Zaraki had taken the more direct approach of Rukoganai--Taichou.

He'd never asked Ichimaru why he became a Shinigami. He hadn't really cared. He still didn't care, really. Gin was not fool enough to question him. Though, sitting on the rooftop, gazing up at the same sky his friend puportedly disappeared into, Kenpachi found himself admitting that it was just one of the many things they had in common.

The reason was simple. Join the shinigami, then beat them. Kenpachi chuckled softly to himself. He could never judge his friend. After all, the ends justify the means. And when all was said and done, their ends were the same.

_A/N: There! Far more drabblesque. The rest might be. But as you've probably noticed, I tend to be long-winded. So there is no guarantee the length of the stories will remain drabble-sized. _


	4. 004 Inside

**004. Inside**

_**A/N: **__I'm cheating a bit here. The title was actually Insides, but as I couldn't think of anything but the most gruesome. Though gruesome works for both characters, I didn't want to go for anything really gory. There's plenty of that already. So instead, Yachiru fluff!_

.: - - - :.

"Here, Smiley-chan!"

Before Gin could turn his head, a lollipop was forcibly shoved into his mouth. He paused to register the flavor - lemon - before looking at the pink-haired girl that had perched herself on his left shoulder.

"That's to cheer you up!" Yachiru chirped, swinging her small feet so they lightly tapped against Gin's chest. "Buuut, you're not _really_ sad are you, Smiley-chan?"

gin looked away from the maddeningly cute yet intense gaze and raised his eyebrows at the girl's guardian.

"Che, we're just coming back from the fourth division. Manditory, you know," Zaraki answered Gin's unvoiced question. "Yachiru overheard a bunch of psychobabble-"

"You're not smiling on the outside while frowning on the inside are you?" Yachiru asked Ichimaru.

She would have scolded him for spitting out a perfectly good lollipop, but his laughter was the answer she'd been looking for.

.: - - - :.

_A/N: Yachiru is smaller here than when we meet her in the Soul Society arc, if you were wondering. _

_The lollipop. Why lemon? shrug The only other flavor I could think of when writing this was cherry and I can't see Gin liking cherry flavor. I could be wrong, though._


	5. 005 Outside

**005. Outside**

_**A/N: **__Again with the cheating. This one was also "outsides" so I took off the "s" and found something I could work with._

Zaraki Kenpachi had convinced himself that he was used to being on the outside. Perhaps that was the reason he was too surprised to react. It was shortly after he became the eleventh division captain. That morning third division captain, Ichimaru Gin, had the audacity to burst into his office - grab-his-hand - and drag him around the whole of Soul Society.

The fool shunpo-ed from division to division. Gin quickly introduced the newest captain to those fortunate enough that Zaraki had not chosen to commandeer their position, then they were off again.

It wasn't until evening they returned to the eleventh division. Kenpachi was uncerimoniously dumped back into the chair behind his desk and Gin left in the same manner he'd arrived. Kenpachi was left sitting there, looking at his pile of completed paperwork - courtesy of Izuru-fukutaichou, Gin paused to note before he'd shunpo-ed wherever. Two things came to Zaraki as he processed the events of the day. First, Ichimaru hadn't let go of his hand until they were back. He found that a bit unsettling. Most everyone, Yachiru the obvious exception, kept their distance from him. It was strange to have a grown man drag him around in the same manner a child would show off a prized toy. The second thing he realized was that the third division captain had just spared him a lot of awkward moments. Zaraki smirked at himself derisively as he got up and walked out the eleventh division gates.

"Che," he looked up at the stars and shook his head. "I owe that sneaky fox.."


	6. 006 Hours

**006. Hours**

_**A/N: **__I don't want to spoil my own story . . . I'll explain after you've read it._

_**Review replies: TrulyWished: **__Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you're enjoying these stories of mine._

_**windlily: **__The lack of Ichimaru & Kenpachi interaction is the reason for these stories of mine. When rereading the Bleach scanlations I noticed how well Zaraki seemed to know Gin. Not to mention how Ichimaru handled Kenpachi 0o (thinking of the two confronting Kuchiki Byakuya!)_

_**Jerkess: **__It did seem odd to me at first that they would be friends. Then I reread the manga, knowing a bit more about each character, and I saw how these two could relate to each other. About Kira's part in "Middles": Gin, knowing Zaraki is a death god of his word, got Kenpachi to agree to not take off the blindfold until he said it was okay._

_**hollowheart3: **__laughs I was going to write in my review reply to shinigami-girl-666 (003 Ends): _I hope you continue to enjoy the madness that is Ginpachi! _until I remembered that name-melding implies a pairing. O-O is right! I could get bricked! I don't see them that way. But stranger pairings are out there . . ._

_Also, I've had to resort to using the main title as a break line since I can't figure out a decent symbol based one that doesn't disappear when I upload it to fanfiction. __L_

**THELIONANDTHEFOX**

They'd been wandering around the Mortal world for hours and Kenpachi was quickly becoming bored. He glared down at the silver-haired shinigami by his side.

Ichimaru winced away from the sharply increased reiatsu. "Something wrong, Zaraki?"

"What were you thinking, volunteering us to try out Kurotsuchi's crazy new contraptions?!" Kenpachi stopped and dangled the shiny palm-sized rectangular device in front of Gin's face.

"Ah, Kenpachi is so hard to please!" Gin crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. The big shinigami blinked, confused.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"You said you were bored. I thought this would be perfect. A change of pace. If you didn't wanna come, you should've said so before we left."

"You said we were gonna get to slice up some hollows!"

"The device is supposed to tell us when and where the Hollows appear. Is it my fault it hasn't indicated anything yet?"

"Worthless piece of junk!" Kenpachi crumpled the offending object in his hand.

"Ano, that wasn't very nice. Mayuri-taichou worked hard on that. He was especially excited that you would be testing it . . ." Gin looked over his shoulder at his companion. Zaraki, knowing he was being baited, chose to remain silent.

"He thought," Gin continued. "That it would be particularly useful to those _weaker_ shinigami that can't sense reiatsu . . ."

"Why, you!" Kenpachi pounced at Ichimaru, who evaded him easily.

**THELIONANDTHEFOX**

Hisagi Shuuhei, fukutaichou of the ninth division, was sure he didn't know the reason the eleventh division captain was chasing the third division captain across a golf course. He was also sure that he didn't _want_ to know the reason either. His taichou, Tousen Kaname, was of the opinion that both were insane. Hisagi was inclined to agree. Still, insane or not, he figured he should warn them before continuing on his mission.

**THELIONANDTHEFOX**

"Hah! It does work!" Ichimaru raised the beeping device over his head. He and Zaraki stopped to look at the lighted screen.

"Is it a hollow? _Finally_."

"No. It's a message from Hisagi-fukutaichou. It says 'Sprinkler system.'"

Kenpachi looked at Gin. "What's that?"

Gin shrugged. "Who knows?"

Both shinigami's eyes flicked over to the small metal object that popped up out of the grass a few feet from where they stood.

**THELIONANDTHEFOX**

Hisagi paused and shook his head as the surprised cries of the two taichou's reached his ears.

"Certifiable."

_A/N: This whole scenario was inspired when I narrowly escaped a neighbour's sprinkler. It was pretty obvious though. I thought of this "hidden sprinkler system on a timer" as a scene in an original story with text messaging of "sprklr systm" to the unsuspecting dousees but it ended up an Ichimaru & Kenpachi adventure instead. grins I figured Hisagi would know a bit more about the practical stuff involving the mortal world and he'd feel obligated to warn them._


	7. DRAW or It's All Fun and Games Until

DRAW or It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye-patch

_**Author's Note: **__Hello, I'm being a bit lazy as I'm anxious to show my readers that I have _**not **_abandoned this fic. I've just been floundering about with more ideas that flew out of a few of the previous drabbles. I'm including a few teaser bits at the end here to show you what's on the horizon. I whipped this up to hold you over until I get the works in progress finished. Thank you for reading these bits of insanity. They can't help it, they're about Gin and Kenpachi!_

THELIONANDTHEFOX

It started innocently enough, as such things often do. Zaraki Kenpachi was adjusting his new eye-patch straps (for the thousandth time) when a long, slender index finger poked the center of the patch.

"Ah, Zaraki! I'll hold it in place while you make a bow." The owner of the index finger said.

Kenpachi looked down at the playfully smiling Ichimaru Gin. "You know this is a reiatsu leech, idiot. So you know that I don't need to tie it on. And what kind of pansy do you think I am??! A bow!!?" Zaraki jerked his face away from Gin's hand.

"Ne, ne! I've got a great idea!" Gin said, ignoring Zaraki's comments. "Now that you've got _**that**_, let's spar!"

Zaraki slung his zanpaktou over his shoulder. "Hn, it would figure that you'd want to fight now."

Gin shrugged. "I'm in no hurry to die."

"More like afraid to die."

"Ah, if you don't wanna, just-"

"Let's go." Kenpachi grabbed the back of Gin's collar and hauled him off.

THELIONANDTHEFOX

Ichimaru looked around the area Zaraki had unceremoniously dragged him. It would do. After straightening his clothing, Gin drew his zanpaktou. The two captains did not speak as they lunged together. Gin knew he needed all his focus against the eleventh division captain.

Zaraki had been waiting for an opportunity to test himself against the third division captain. His excitement was evident by the gleam in his exposed eye.

Gin had no fear hidden behind his smile as their swords clanged together. The silver-haired shinigami allowed the larger captain to force him backwards. When he stopped, there was a couple of yards distance between them. He waited for Zaraki's attack.

"Shinsou, shoot to death."

Kenpachi let out a sharp laugh as he dodged the elongating blade of Gin's zanpaktou. The fight was going better than he'd hoped. He'd have to thank that creepy Mayuri for the reiastu leech. Without it, he wouldn't by having much fun at all. He had not been challenged since he became a captain.

Neither shinigami took much of an advantage over the other. Ichimaru kept a fair distance from his opponent until the end. Zaraki's zanpaktou's ragged blade scraped against Shinsou. He opened his eyes just enough to show the glint of cold grey.

"Shinsou, shoot to death."

Kenpachi was a fraction too slow in moving his head out of the growing blade's way. He felt the skin along the left side of his face split as the edge of the blade passed through. Instinctively, his eyes closed as the sword continued to slice a neat line straight through the leech. There was a shriek of pain, followed by a flood of Kenpachi's reiatsu as the leech eye-patch fell to the ground. The undirected force of the released reiatsu sent Ichimaru flying back a ridiculously far distance and caused a great amount of damage to some of the thirteenth division.

THELIONANDTHEFOX

Gin was recovering nicely in the fourth division. He'd already been visited by Ukitake-taichou, Matsumoto, and Izuru. So when a frowning Isane-fukutaichou announced he had a visitor it wasn't hard to guess who it could be.

"Ne, Zaraki, was Mayuri-taichou upset about having to fix your eye-patch?"

"Nah, it fixed itself."

Kenpachi laughed at the expression on Gin's face.

"My zanpaktou got you pretty good," Gin said when he recovered from his momentary surprise.

Zaraki chuckled as he roughly ran his palm over the left side of his face. "Yeah."

Since neither of the captains declared a victory over the other, the rest of Seireitei declared the battle a draw.

_**A/N;**__ There. It's done! Sorry, I really suck at writing fight scenes. : ( _

_Ichimaru's shikai sounds so extreme when used here. O-o _

_I figured Mayuri would have enough foresight to make a regenerating leech eye-patch to limit his contact with Zaraki. Imagine a sheepish Kenpachi going up to Mayuri with his sliced up eye-patch in hand. . . _

_Kenpachi: Oi, can you fix this thing?_

_Mayuri: What! That's the 10,892__nd__ time this week! Do you think I have nothing better to do with my time than repair one of my many brilliant creations?!?!_

_Kenpachi: . . . _

_-;_

_Anyway, I promised previews, so here they are, first 007: Days_

**THELIONANDTHEFOX**

It took two days before Yamamoto, the leader of the Gotei 13, was calm enough to decide what to do with Ichimaru Gin, captain of the third division, and Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the eleventh division. Now that he was calm, he was just plain weary.

"Show me again what happened in the mortal world, Kurotsuchi-taichou."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the twelfth division, bowed. "With pleasure.

"Item one: The unprovoked destruction of Soul Society equipment being field-tested."

The screen showed footage of Zaraki crushing a d**enreishinki**.

"Worthless piece of junk!" The image of the eleventh division captain declared.

Mayuri cleared his throat.

"Item two: The rampant, and ill-advised, destruction of the Karakura Golf Course's sprinkler system . . ."

Images flashed on the screen – the sprinklers spraying the two captains with water – their initial surprised reaction – Zaraki hacking off the sprinkler's head, only to have a gusher of water toss him backward, onto Gin.

"Wait," Yamamoto said. "That is the best part. Play that back." He chuckled, the captains of the Gotei 13 were troublesome at times, and their behavior had to be dealt with, but he couldn't help thinking of them as his children. These two in particular were troublesome. Possibly even more so than Shunsui Kyouraku and Jyuushirou Ukitake. Yamamoto shuddered at the thought of Zaraki and Gin attending the Academy at the same time. Not for the first time was he grateful that Zaraki took his captaincy by force rather than procedure. . . . .

_End of Preview One_

_Preview Two: 008 Weeks 1.0_

"Thank you for doing this work for Mayuri-taichou," Kurotsuchi Nemu, fukutachou of the twelfth division, looked up at her father's temporary helper. Zaraki looked down at the girl, mild surprise showing on his face.

"When your old man made you, he sure didn't make you like him, did he?"

Nemu blinked at the remark and looked down. "Ano . . ."

"Che, that was what's called a compliment. From what I've seen he doesn't give you any so I'm not surprised you can't tell. Not that I'm too good at givin' them myself." Zaraki finished packing a large wooden crate.

He hoisted it over his left shoulder. "Where does he want this?"

"Follow me."

They walked in relative silence down the sterile halls of the twelfth division. Ikkaku, the eleventh division's third seat, and Yumichika, the division's fifth seat, were interim taichou and fukutaichou while Kenpachi worked for Mayuri. Yamamoto had required Yachiru to go to the third division as Gin's punishment for his part in the real world's golf course incident.

_End of Preview Two_


	8. RUSH

**RUSH**

_**Author's Note: **__Yet another procrastination drabble. This one was inspired by an oekaki (a neat little thing that shows you the finished doodle and the doodle-in-progress) by gishkishenh from the ginkira LiveJournal Community. I originally joined there to find some background information on Gin, so I would have a better understanding of the Fox of these stories. Little did I know I would be getting a truckload of inspiration. Just what I needed, more plot bunnies. They multiply like crazy! Gah! _

RUSH

Gin stifled a laugh with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head, as he shuffled up to Kenpachi's side. The larger taichou was standing in the middle of the third division, spiked head tilted slightly to the left, taking in the activity before him. Gin lowered his arms, one stopping halfway so he could scratch the back of his head. Laughter and squeals of delight filled the air around them.

"Ah, that explains a lot," Gin commented after they stood there for a while. Kenpachi's eye fixed on him, clearly expecting Ichimaru to elaborate.

"Izuru and I were eatin' breakfast . . ."

The other's eye rolled to look upwards. The bells on the tips of the black spikes jingled lightly with the knowing shake of Kenpachi's head.

"You fell back to sleep didn't ya?"

Ichimaru bowed his head in shame.

"Ne," Gin lifted his head back up. "I just woke up. I looked down at my bowl an' it was empty! An' Izuru was gone. All the paperwork was still sitting there. I was wondering what could be wrong."

"Don't ya eat the same thing Yachiru eats for breakfast?'

"Yeah, 'Shinigami Love Love Sugar Stars with Marshmallow Hearts and Zanpaktous!'"

Yachiru and Kira paused their game of dodge ball tag to chorus:

"With a free collectable card in every box!"

Then Kira wound up, tongue sticking out in determination, and threw the ball as hard as he could at his fellow fukutaichou. He missed and there was another mad rush for the loose ball accompanied by more laughter.

"He's never ate that stuff before, eh?"

"Nah, he's usually such a good fukutaichou. Eats his vegetables and all, ya know."

"You're such a bad influence," Kenpachi rested his forearm on Gin's shoulder, lop-sided grin on his face.

Gin beamed back up at him. "I know."

_A/N: After some discussion with the artist and from other comments, I began to wonder: What if Kira ate Gin's cereal on him while he was sleeping? This is what I came up with. It's a slightly OOC Kira, but I think he'd be so hyper from Gin's cereal that he couldn't work even if he tried. Poor Kira, at least it's only a sugar rush. _

_Way out there : I bet Mayuri and Soi-Fong eat that cereal too. Only in a very, secret room with many locks on the door so no one ever knows. And if anyone did find out, they wouldn't live to tell. XD_


	9. 007 Days

**DAYS**

_AN: Ah, hello again. Here I am, actually updating this fic! Whoa! I had major issues with whether my stories were actually following canon. But I think I have finally come to terms with whatever mistakes I've made or may make in the future with this. I really like these two characters too too much to ever truly stop writing them. Especially since I'm the only one that I know of that does. And this isn't even shonen-ai or whatever. laughs _

_Thank you for reading this. This chapter is probably a little disappointing, since most of it was previewed already. But I needed to put the finishing touches on it and post it on its own to set up for the next chapter, WEEKS .001, which I hope makes up for this one. So without further ado . . ._

_Also my apologies for the false start of the story (to those who read it previously). I have no idea what went wonky, but I just figured out how to edit the stories after they've been uploaded. So I hope that this won't happen again._

It took two days before Yamamoto, the leader of the Gotei 13, was calm enough to decide what to do with Ichimaru Gin, captain of the third division, and Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the eleventh division. Now that he was calm, he was just plain weary.

"Show me again what happened in the mortal world, Kurotsuchi-taichou."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the twelfth division, bowed.

"With pleasure. Item one: The unprovoked destruction of Soul Society equipment being field-tested."

The screen showed footage of Zaraki crushing a **denreishinki**.

"Worthless piece of junk!" The image of the eleventh division captain declared.

Mayuri cleared his throat.

"Item two: The rampant, and ill-advised, destruction of the Karakura Golf Course's sprinkler system . . ."

Images flashed on the screen – the sprinklers spraying the two captains with water – their initial surprised reaction – Zaraki hacking off the sprinkler's head, only to have a gusher of water toss him backward, onto Gin.

"Wait," Yamamoto said. "That is the best part. Play that back." He chuckled, the captains of the Gotei 13 were troublesome at times, and their behavior had to be dealt with, but he couldn't help thinking of them as his children. These two in particular were troublesome. Possibly even more so than Shunsui Kyouraku and Jyuushirou Ukitake. Yamamoto shuddered at the thought of Zaraki and Gin attending the Academy at the same time. Not for the first time was he grateful that Zaraki took his captaincy by force rather than procedure. He became aware of Mayuri gazing at him intently. He waved absently for the captain to continue.

The stream of images began flowing again. This time showing a thoroughly drenched Kenpachi propelling himself into the air, zanpaktou raised high above his now drooping hair. Ichimaru took this opportunity to pick himself up from the ground and shunpo away from both Zaraki and the sprinklers. The last images showed Kenpachi's frenzied attack on the remaining sprinklers.

Yamamoto chuckled to himself in amusement. _Really, sprinkler systems. Mortals came up with some of the strangest things._ Then the leader of the Gotei Thirteen shook off his levity and addressed the captain of the twelfth division. "Call in the captains of the third and eleventh divisions. I am ready to pronounce my judgment."


	10. 008 Weeks 001

**WEEKS 001**

_AN: So here it is. The latest chapter in The Lion and The Fox. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope you find it worth the wait. It is much longer than the other chapters have been. WEEKS 002 will probably be about the same as this one, give or take a few paragraphs. I do so love these two insane captains._

_Also my apologies for the false start of the story (to those who read it previously). I have no idea what went wonky, but I just figured out how to edit the stories after they've been uploaded. So I hope that this won't happen again._

* * *

When Zaraki Kenpachi was sent to the twelfth division as punishment (for Destruction of Gotei 13 Prototype 34RC311, for one) various mutterings could be heard throughout Soul Society.

"_I'd hate to be part of the third division right now . . ."_

"_Poor vice-captain Kira . . ."_

"_I wonder how long they can keep those two apart?"_

"_Wanna bet on how long it takes for vice-captain Yachiru to fill the fourth division with the third?"_

This last question happened to be uttered within earshot of aforementioned, Yachiru. The speaker was promptly slammed with a reiatsu that sent him to the fourth division himself. Yachiru, satisfied her insulter had been suitably punished, let out a "hmph!" and continued on her way. The person walking behind her shook their head and clucked their tongue.

"Ne, ne. That wasn't very nice, Yachiru."

Yachiru tilted her head back to take in the upside-down smiling face of Ichimaru Gin. She couldn't help but smile in return, even though that rude comment still irked her.

"Ah, Gin-chan, I'm tired of hearing people talk like it's a punishment to be around me!" She pouted and crossed her arms. She kicked at the ground while they walked.

"That's because they don't know ya. They just don't get ya. And they ain't that used to shinigami your age running around. Ya hafta have noticed that Toushiro's the only one even close."

Yachiru waved off Gin's words. "Yeah, yeah. Baldy and Yumichika said all that, too. Even Ken-chan's told me that. He thinks it's funny."

THELIONANDTHEFOX

Yachiru really wasn't all that happy about going to the third division while her Ken-chan worked for the creepy clown-faced captain of the twelfth division. She had demanded that Ken-chan take her with him.

"NO!" He practically roared. His eyes were really angry.

Yachiru was a little shocked at this. He never yelled at her. She bit her lower lip, planted her feet firmly on the ground and met his eyes with a defiant glare of her own. Kenpachi's eyes softened and he went down on one knee before her. He placed his hands lightly on her small shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Yachiru," His gravelly voice was very serious. She shifted nervously but looked right back at him, showing she was listening. "Please go stay with Gin and Kira until I'm finished working at the twelfth division."

"Why do I have to go? Why can't they come here?"

"Because Ikkaku and Yumichika can handle things while we're not here. Gin's division isn't that strong."

"But, I didn't even get to have fun with you and Gin-chan when you went to the mortal world! Why am I getting punished too!?"

Kenpachi pulled her closer and gave her a hug. She could feel him laughing lightly. "Well, brat. The idea is that you're supposed to be Gin's punishment."

Yachiru pushed him away at that. The strength of her shocked reiatsu knocked Kenpachi off balance and he landed on his posterior with an undignified 'oof!'

"Wh-What!? I thought Gin-chan liked me . . ."

Kenpachi pulled himself into a cross-legged sitting position. He waved his hands in the air while shaking his head to indicate 'no.' It was a pity he had already taken his hair down for the night, it would've been even funnier with his bells jingling. The sight and it's corresponding thought made Yachiru stifle a giggle.

"Nah. You see, Gin likes you all right. It's just that the rest of Soul Society thinks you're a little dynamo just waiting to blow. You are _my_ vice-captain after all. We've got a reputation." Kenpachi gave her a toothy lop-sided grin and held a hand out to her. She giggle outright and launched herself into the air, quickly closing the distance between them. She grabbed his hand and settled onto his lap.

She looked up at him. "Yeah, I know. But it still sucks."

Kenpachi responded by ruffling her pink hair. "Che. I'll be too busy at the twelfth division anyway. You wouldn't have any fun. Just go with Gin and Kira and have fun with them. Who cares what the rest of Soul Society thinks? You know what people say about Gin. Do we care?"

Yachiru vigorously shook her head no.

Zaraki gave her a little nudge. "So do what I ask, okay?"

She beamed back up at him with a smile so broad, her eyes were closed. "'Kay!"

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then . . .

"Ken-chaaaan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you _really_ want me to go to the twelfth division with you?"

Zaraki let out a sigh of the long-suffering.

"Because I can't trust Mayuri to not try and give you some experimental candy or something. And we both know you'd eat it before thinking . . . ."

THELIONANDTHEFOX

"Ah, so that's how it is . . . ." Gin said lazily, as they lounged in the shade of a tree near a pond.

"Yep!" Yachiru chirped happily, as she watched the paper boat float along the water.

"Taichou! Taichou!" Kira came running towards where they were. He stopped to catch his breath, clutching his side. Gin opened one eye a tiny bit to observe his frazzled vice-captain.

"Ne, Izuru. What's wrong?"

"Taichou," Kira began, still clutching his mid-section. "An important document has gone missing and I"

Movement caught his eyes and they widened as they focused on the paper boat with 'Important!' stamped in red ink on its side. His hands moved from clutching his side, to his hair. He stood gaping in disbelief for a moment before . . .

"NOOooo!" He ran into the pond after the paper boat, wailing. "Taichouuu! How could youuu!?"

"My boat!" Yachiru yelled when Kira unfolded the half-soaked paper. She couldn't bring herself to protest more when she saw the utterly forlorn look on the third division vice-captain's face.

Gin sat up and regarded his vice-captain standing mid-thigh in water, pouting over the demise of the document.

"Izuru?"

Kira blinked at the sound of his name. He looked around to find Gin and Yachiru watching him. They looked worried. He turned back to the paper he was holding at arms-length. He carefully refolded it and placed it carefully back on the water's surface. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Ano, sorry, Yachiru. I kind of overreacted." He waded over to join them. Gin laid back down, sighing contentedly. Yachiru patted Kira on the knee and they watched the boat meander over the water.

_A/N: Er, yay! Now I know how to get the horizontal ruler format in the story! That should be helpful._


	11. Ichimaru Gin Birthday Special 2008

Ichimaru Gin Birthday Special 2008!

_A/N: Because I'm lame like this. I started this thing over a year ago!_

_(insert bug-eyes) And then I had the nerve to miss both Gin and Kenpachi's_

_birthdays. I almost missed Gin's again this year, were it not for the fact that I joined the_

_livejournal ginxkira community (mainly for research purposes but I've stayed cuz I like it big grin)_

_So this is way off-the-cuff. As I said before, I just found out I almost missed it again._

* * *

Ichimaru Gin didn't like surprises. No- wait- he took that back. He liked to be the one springing the surprise. He just didn't like being the one that was surprised. He turned his head slightly to look at his vice-captain, Izuru Kira.

"To whom do I owe this honor?"

Some of the party-goers shrank back at the aura Gin gave off with this seemingly innocent question. Kira bowed his head and merely replied, "You said you had nothing planned, taichou."

Gin raised his eyebrows at the calm response and a more genuine smile crossed his face. "So I did."

The tension in the air dissipated and the celebration began in earnest.

Taking in his surroundings, Gin nearly pouted when he realized it was much better attended than the ones he planned himself. Really, was he that scary-weird to the rest of them?

The ninth division captain sent his regrets that he could not attend through his vice-captain, Hisagi Shuuhei. The captain of the sixth division did the same through his vice-captain, Renji Abarai. Ah, there was little Hinamori-chan! That completed the band of his vice-captain's academy friends. And that meant that her captain was surely there to keep-

"Congratulations on another birthday, Gin." The bespectacled captain of the fifth division, Aizen Sousuke said. -an eye on her.

Gin gave a slight bow of his head. "Thank you. I'm honored you and your vice-captain were able to attend."

"I regret that we will not be staying long. Enjoy your party." Formalities finished, they parted ways.

And if Hinamori-chan was there, then that also meant the presence of boy-genius captain of the tenth division, Hitsugaya Toushirou. The all-too-serious young man was very protective of the girl and very suspicious of Ichimaru. It was safe to assume the diminutive captain's attendance had very little to do with wanting to celebrate Gin's afterlife in Soul Society. Ah well, Gin shrugged to himself, it can't be helped.

Fortunately, the other captains in attendance were less frosty. (Save, perhaps, Komamura, but one never knew what was going on under that helmet, so Gin really didn't think that made a difference.) He was (truly) delighted that Ukitake Jyuushirou, captain of the thirteenth division, was there. He was always such a pleasant person. Very warm and kind. Gin could only take his company in small doses, as the captain's goodness only seemed to provoke his more mischievous side. Ukitake's third and fourth seats were also present. Fighting, as usual, over who would get their captain his refreshment. It was quite touching, really. The fact that Ukitake had not appointed a new vice-captain after the unfortunate loss of one Kaien Shiba to a powerful hollow. Nah, Gin couldn't help but like the guy.

Unohana Retsu, captain of the fourth division, was also lent her understated presence to Gin's surprise party. He accepted her best wishes with a bow and warm clasp of her pro-offered right hand. He spotted Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the twelfth division, lurking ominously close to the large punch bowl (now half-empty). What bad luck! He hadn't even got to try any before the resident mad scientist tampered with it. As if on cue, Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of the eighth division, shoved a glass into his hand.

"Happy birthday, Ichimaru!" Shunsui slung an arm over Gin's shoulders and clinked their glasses together. "Let's go have some cake!"

Gin's brow furrowed with confusion. Cake? There was cake? He hadn't seen any cake. He heard Yachiru's voice in the background. "Cake! Cake! Yay! Cake!"

Gin looked where Shunsui was guiding him. "Oh."

Kira and Ikkaku, Zaraki's third seat, were wheeling the biggest cake Gin had ever seen to the center of the room. It was huge! But apparently, that wasn't all. His guests were counting.

"1-2-3! Happy Birthday!"

Rangiku burst out from the top of the cake. Wearing a very silly pointed hat, held on her head with an elastic, and blowing a noisemaker in his face. So that's where she had been all this time. He'd been wondering.

* * *

Gin shared a smile with the quarter-moon hung high in the clear night sky. It was quiet now. Only the sound of his feet making their way from his division reached his ears. As he got closer to his destination, he could hear the faint tinkle of bells. He found Kenpachi sleeping on the roof. He nudged the softly snoring shinigami with his toe. The snoring stopped. Zaraki's visible eye opened and quickly sighted Gin.

"Yer birthday's over," Kenpachi slurred more from sleep than drink. "What do you want?"

Gin's shoulders shook with laughter over his friend's blunt manner. It never failed to amuse him.

"I just came to thank you."

Zaraki turned his back to Gin with a grunt. "You're welcome. Didn't think you'd want Yumichika jumping out of that cake."

The moral of the story:

Sometimes what we don't get is the best gift of all XD!

* * *

_Author's end note: Yes, that's the end! Ah, I wanted to mention why Soi Fon wasn't there (she can't be bothered) and Yamamoto wants to avoid complaints of favoritism so he doesn't go to any birthday parties except his own :). But that all didn't fit into what little flow I had going in the story. Yachiru was going to have a bit more to do, too. :( I hope it isn't too bad. Thank you for reading!_


	12. KenChan's Birthday Special 2009

KEN-CHAN'S BIRTHDAY  
IT'S A PANTY PINATA PARTY!  
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY  
- YACHIRU  
_PRESIDENT OF THE SHINIGAMI WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION_

It wasn't as if the party was really a surprise. As much as Yachiru insisted it _was_. What with walking in on Kuchiki-Hime flat out refusing to host "such a distasteful and debase gathering" on his precious property during one of the Gotei-13 meetings. Good ol' Ukitake had come to Yachiru's rescue by offering to hold the party at the 13th Division, where there were plenty of trees to hang the pinata. Not that Ukitake said all that, Kenpachi just filled in the blanks as captain of the 13th Division disappointed Byakuya. Kenpachi could take or leave most of the other captains in the Gotei-13. But he had to admit, he liked how Ukitake was unafraid of the 9th Division captain's wrath.

As the party progressed, Kenpachi wondered to himself how the idea of a party came about. Yachiru was the President of the Shinigami Women's Association but it was doubtful she would make them throw him a party unless she had encouragement. The vice-president, Shunsui's straight-laced vice-captain, definitely wouldn't have suggested a party, much less one with a pinata. Kenpachi gave a snort of laughter at that idea. Yumichika, his fifth-seat, gave him a side-long glance at that. The captain of the 4th Division, Unohana Retsu, was chairwoman, and despite his suspicions that she wasn't as prim as she led on, Kenpachi also doubted she was the source of the idea. Now, Mayuri's weird-ass daughter, Nemu, he could believe she would come up with something like this if Yachiru asked her.

Normally Zaraki wouldn't care, but there was the fatherly side of him that just wouldn't let it go. Yachiru would be happy with anything that would give her candy. It didn't matter to her if the pinata was in the shape of a pair of women's panties. She was still too young and innocent to see the inappropriateness. Not that anybody would ever accuse any member of the 11th Division of appropriateness, much less their Captain and vice-captain.

After the food had been devoured and most of the sake poured, Yachiru bounced over to where he was seated.  
"Ken-chan! Ken-chan! It's time for you to kill the pinata!"  
"Che, all right, all right," Zaraki took his time getting to his feet. Yachiru grabbed his hand and tugged him impatiently toward the tree where the panty pinata was awaiting in all it's horrifyingly huge pink glory. "You just can't wait to get at that candy." He growled at the pink-haired girl.  
"Yep!" She chirped as she smiled up at him, brightly.

He let her drag him through the crowd of guests. He noticed that Gin was there with his ever-present grin on his face, standing between his faithful vice-captain, Kira and long-time pal, Matsumoto. Matsumoto gave him a sloppy wave, splashing some of her sake on Gin's head, as Yachiru led him by. Just ahead, Byakuya was pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering about "do get on with it." Kenpachi had to grin at that and he clapped his free hand on Byakuya's shoulder.  
"Don't worry. I'll slay the abomination for ya!"  
The sake was freeing some inhibitions because that got a scattering of laughter. Byakuya gave the shoulder Kenpachi had touched a withering glare, then turned it to Kenpachi himself. He scowled and opened his mouth to speak.  
"_My hero!_" Someone declared in a falsetto voice. Byakuya looked mortified, snapped his mouth closed and looked away, nose in the air.  
Kenpachi could only chuckle and silently thank whoever that was for making his birthday right there.

Ukitake handed Kenpachi a bokken (wooden practice sword). With a bow and a sweeping gesture toward the pinata, Ukitake discreetly distanced himself from the impending carnage. Zaraki fixed the pinata with a menacing stare, raised the bokken above his head and launched himself at it. There was a thunderous crack and the immediate vicinity was showered with bits of pink paper mache and candy.  
"Yay! Candy!" Yachiru jumped up and down. "Happy Birthday, Ken-chan!" She beamed up at him for the hundredth time that day, this time with arms full of candy. He placed his large hand on the crown of her head and smiled back down at her.  
"Thanks, Yachiru."

Then he'd left the party to the rest of the Gotei-13. He'd had enough of socializing. He decided to spend some time on the roof of the 11th Division's office. He had not been there too long when he heard the sound of Yachiru's voice in the distance.  
"Shiro-chan! Shiro-chan! Have some candy with us!"  
_Us?_  
"Ne, ne. Toshiro-kun! You must help us celebrate by sharing our candy!" It was Ukitake's voice. The ol' boy was somehow managing to keep up with Yachiru on a sugar-rush. Zaraki shook his head and chuckled some more. He almost felt bad for the Captain of the 10th Division, with those two on his trail.

"Wanna bet they make poor Hitsugaya-kun bankai?"  
Kenpachi turned his head so see Gin padding silently across the roof toward him.  
"Yachiru will think this is the best day ever, if he does that." He smirked at the thought as Gin seated himself beside him.  
"Well, how'd you like the party?"  
Zaraki didn't answer, his face became neutral and he gazed out at the night sky. Gin was never patient at the best of time, get some sake and sugar in him and he was very impatient. It wasn't long before Gin was jabbing his big toe under Zaraki's ribs.  
"Well?"  
"So it was you."  
"Of course it was me. Who else could get the Shinigami Women's Association to throw you a surprise panty pinata party? And I didn't even tell them the rules."  
"Rules?"  
"Yeah. You see, you're supposed to be blind-folded before you hit the pinata. Makes it more of a challenge."  
"No way are you getting a blind-fold on me, Gin. Not after the last time!" [1]  
"I know, I know! Sheesh, why do you think I didn't tell them the rules?"  
"Hn."  
"Sooo. How'd you like the party?"  
"I was better than the one I threw you."  
Gin shrugged. "I'm still grateful you dissuaded Yumichika." [2]  
Kenpachi propped himself up on an elbow "Do it again."  
Gin's grin got wider.  
"Come on, it was the highlight of the party."  
Gin straighten his posture and his captain's robe. He clasped his hands together dramatically.  
"_My hero!_"

END  
[1] See chapter 002 Middles  
[2] See Ichmaru Gin Birthday Special 2008

_Author's Note:  
Gah! You probably thought I'd forgot all about this. I haven't! It is a semi-constant source of guilt to me that I have neglected these characters. How I love Zaraki Kenpachi and I hope that I've done a better job of this birthday special than I did on Gin's. Even though it's a year late. Yes, the idea was inspired by the "Big Bang Theory" episode title: The Panty Pinata Polarization over a year ago. I think that I would not have written as good a birthday special if I had tried writing it last year. I hope this was worth the wait! Thank you for reading!  
_


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